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Phillies' Myers to undergo hip surgery, may be out for season

Associated PressPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher Brett Myers delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees last week in New York.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher and Jacksonville resident Brett Myers, after consulting with a hip specialist Friday, has decided to undergo surgery to replace a torn labrum and could miss the remainder of the 2009 season, his father, Phil, told the Times-Union.

Surgery had been recommended to Myers by team doctors, but he wanted to get a second opinion from Dr. Bryan Kelly, who performed hip surgeries on Phillies second baseman Chase Utley last November and Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell in October. Both players returned for Opening Day. Myers was meeting with club officials Friday afternoon to inform them of his decision.

Myers is scheduled to undergo the operation on Thursday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, and the best-case scenario may be a return to the club in late September. The recovery time is projected to be 3-4 months, so it's not a certainty that Myers will return even if the first-place Phillies made it to postseason play in October. Another factor is this type of hip surgery has only been performed on position players, while Myers is heavily dependent on his right hip to provide a push off the pitching rubber when he releases the ball.

"[Kelly] told him if he's going to be a baseball player, he's got to get [the surgery] done," Phil Myers said. "The hip locked up on him Wednesday night [pitching against the Florida Marlins]."

The decision has ramifications beyond the Phillies' hopes to repeat as World Series champions. Myers is also in the last year of a three-year $25.75 million contract and becomes eligible for free agency after this season. If the Phillies and other teams believe the surgery is successful and won't impede his effectiveness, Myers is expected to land a monster contract.

Myers, 4-3 with a 4.66 Earned Run Average, has given up a major league-leading 17 home runs in 10 starts this season, and according to his father, the hip has been bothering him for nearly two years. This season, he has felt more impaired than usual and his father estimates Brett has lost 3 or 4 miles per hour on his fast ball.